Water closet enclosure



1970 K. L. RUGGLES 3,524,203

WATER CLOSET ENCLOSURE Filed D90. 12, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I I I I I f I I I I, II I I I II I I I I I I I N I I V II II INVENTOR.

I I Key L. Ruggles I I I ATTORNEY Aug. 18, 1970 K. L. RUGGLES 3, 4

WATER CLOSET ENCLOSURE Filed D480. 12, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 ,INVENTOR.

3 1 Kay L. Ruqqles y ATTORNEY Aug. 18, 1970 K. L. RUGGLES WATER CLOSET ENCLOSURE Filed Dec. 12, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 n N V n N v aM/,V, 2, r Mm I u 7 INVENTOR Koy L. Ruggles ATTORNEY Aug. 18, 1970 K. L.. RUGGLES 35 5 WATER CLOSET ENCLOSURE Filed Dec. 12. 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 8.

INVENTOR. Kay L. Ruqqles rw jam) ATTORNEY 3,524,203 WATER CLOSET ENCLOSURE Kay L. Ruggles, Salt Lake City, Utah, assignor to American Standard Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 12, 1967, Ser. No. 689,885 Int. Cl. A47k 17/00 US. Cl. 4-1 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A surround or shroud covering for enclosing water closets and which joins and blends the area occupied by the closet with the adjoining floor and wall surfaces into a composite structure. The shroud is so constructed it joins with a tile floor or may be continuous part of the floor. The shroud is of such size it can be used with a variety of conventional water closet configurations and an adapter is provided to join the shroud with the rim of the water closet.

This invention relates to bathroom fixture enclosures and particularly to water closet enclosures.

Heretofore water closets have been made in various shapes and constructions, in an attempt to make them more acceptable installations in bathrooms. Despite these efforts water closets still are objectionable but nevertheless necessary bathroom fixtures. Often people drape fancy fabric covers over the tanks and the seat of a water closet in an attempt to conceal the same.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an enclosure which is of such construction that it can be used with a variety of present-day water closet constructions and still join with the interior wall and floor surfaces of a bathroom.

One of the objectives of this invention is to provide a shroud which can be used with water closets of a variety of shapes and configurations.

Another objective is to provide adapter rings which can be used to adapt a shroud to a particular water closet with which the shroud is used.

A further objective is to provide a shroud which is integral with the floor of a bathroom.

Another objective is to provide a shroud which will conceal a water closet and join with a wall and floor.

Another objective is to provide a water closet shroud which will tie in with a tile bathroom floor.

Another object is to provide a .water closet shroud which has recess for receiving floor tile in abutment therewith.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which discloses a few embodiments of the invention. It should be understood, however, that the drawings are deisgned for the purpose of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention as to which reference should be made to the appended claims.

The drawings wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my improved water closet shroud;

FIG. 2 is a top view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation taken on line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG .5 is a partial sectional elevation taken on line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a top view taken on line 66 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of my invention;

' 'nited States Patent Ofiice 3,524,203 Patented Aug. 18, 1970 FIG. 8 is a front elevation taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 7.

In the embodiment of my water closet shroud shown in FIG. 1, my invention consists of a water closet covering 10 which constitutes part of and extends upwardly from the floor 12. The floor 12 covers the floor area of a bathroom as shown in FIG. 1 and the side 14 curves upwardly under the overhang 16 of a bathtub enclosure.

On the side of the room opposite the bathtub 18 may be placed a dual lavatory 20 and in this case the floor 12 also had a upwardly extending curve 22 which extends under the overhang of the lavatory cabinet 24. The area of the floor 12 facing the far wall of the bathroom used to illustrate the invention also has an upwardly extending curved portion 26.

The back wall 28 conceals the water closet tank 30 and an opening 32 may be provided therein for providing access to the tank 30. The tank 30 may be of the wall hung type shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 wherein a downwardly extending elbow 32 extends through the wall 28 into the water closet as shown in FIG. 6. The water closet 34 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 may be of any conventional configuration. Consequently my shroud can be used with water closets of various designs to thereby update the appearance of a bathroom and enable the same to be modernized without the necessity of employing a water closet of any particular design.

The water closet is also provided with a conventional seat 36 and a conventional cover 38. The seat may have conventional bumpers 40 and the cover similarly may have conventional bumpers 42.

My design of the water closet does not require the closet to be disconnected from the floor to install the shroud because the shroud merely has to be slid forwardly past the bowl as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 up against the back .wall.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 the space 44 between the upper end of the flanged shroud 46 surrounding the water closet 34 and the water closet rim 50 is closed by an adapter ring 48. The downwardly extending flanges 52 of the adapter ring 48 may be secured to the shroud walls 46 by suitable screws 47 or by an adhesive. The adapter ring 48 has a reinforcing structure 51 such as wood into which the screws 47 are inserted.

The inner edge of the adapter ring 48, where it joins the rim 50 of the water closet, may be caulked with any suitable caulking material or a conventional commercial plastic caulking compound, such as silicone, may be employed for this purpose.

In some installations it may not be desired to have the entire floor 12 prefabricated as shown in FIG. 1 and in such cases it is preferably to use a modified form of the water closet shroud 54 such as shown in FIG. 7.

In such a modification, as shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9', the water closet shroud terminates a short distance from the water closet and the lower portion of the modified form of water closet shroud 54 is provided with a flange 56 which has a step or abutment 48 which extends around the lower portion of the shroud 54. The flange 56 is glued to the floor by an adhesive or is secured thereto by mechanical means such as nails or screws. Floor tile is layed on the fioor in any conventional manner and such floor tile extends over the flange 56 up against the abutment 58.

In both the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 and in the modified form of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, a water closet shroud cover 60 is hingedly mounted and connected to the stationary shroud adapter 48 by means of suitable hinges 62 in the manner shown in FIG. 9'. This enables the shroud cover 60 to be lifted up and tilted against the back wall 28 so as to permit access to the toilet cover 38 and toilet seat 36.

The access door 32 shown in FIG. 2 may be held in place by any conventional means as for example magnetic clamps or locks 64.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that I have provided an enclosure for a conventional toilet which is of a rugged design and arrangement in that it is securely attached to the floor.

The shroud I have shown may be made from conventional materials such as plastic coated fiber glass or from poured plastics which can be similar to that described in my copending application Ser. No. 622,910, filed Mar. 14, 1967. The water closet shroud is secured to the floor either by nailing or by using adhesives. The tile in the surrounding floor area is then laid over the flange 56 up to the abutment 58.

I have also accomplished my objective of joining the water closet shroud with the floor and walls of the bathroom in such a way as to completely conceal the water closet.

I have also accomplished my objective of providing a sanitary device which can be readily cleaned with a minimum of effort and which will be of such durable construction that it will give long service.

While this invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, these are illustrative only, as many alternatives and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit or proper scope of the invention. The invention is therefore not to be construed as limited, except as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A shroud for a water closet comprising an outer covering that extends from adjacent the upper periphery of the toilet bowl downwardly and outwardly forming a horizontal flange joining integrally with a floor of a bathroom, an adapter ring extending from the upper edge of the surrounding shroud to the edge of the water closet rim, to cover the area between the rim of the water closet and the upwardly extending shroud.

2. A shroud having the features provided for in claim 1, wherein means are provided for securing the adapter ring to the upper portion of the shroud.

3. A shroud having the features provided for in claim 1, wherein the lower outwardly extending horizontal flange has a stepped perimeter over which floor tile may be laid up against the stepped edge.

4. A shroud having the features provided for in claim 1, wherein the adapter ring has a reinforced area suitable for receiving a screw to secure the adapter ring to the upper portion of the shroud.

5. A water closet shroud having the features provided for in claim 1, wherein there is a space between the up wardly extending portion of the shroud and the peripheral sides of the closet bowl and an adapter ring having an inner configuration conforming to the toilet bowl and an outer configuration conforming to the shroud.

6. A Water closet shroud having the features provided for in claim 5 wherein means are provided for fixedly securing the adapter ring to the bowl and shroud.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,089,775 8/1937 Wexelberg et al. 412 2,658,201 11/1953 Sherwood 4-1 2,183,897 12/1939 Stiller 410 2,542,046 2/1951 Mullett et al. 4-167 2,749,968 6/1956 Suser 4-1 XR LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 15 05 2 

